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Guns Fall Silent When Orchestras Perform:Moscow Turns Into World's Music Capital

© Sputnik / Evgenya Novozhenina / Go to the mediabankThe solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow
The solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow - Sputnik International
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Unparalleled Mireille Mathieu, meditative Indian marches, lilting EU bagpipes, solemn Russian performances and even a kung-fu show from China – Moscow became the world’s main stage as the International Spasskaya Tower Military Music festival kicked off on Saturday, underpinned by the motto “Guns fall silent while orchestras are marching.”

The echo of drum roll and fanfares filled the Moscow streets when teams from 12 countries and two international crews threw a splendid performance on the Red Square, making the heart of Russia beat to melodies expressing each nation's unique spirit. Rain and clouds could not derail the show — on the contrary, the thick wet air even helped spread the sound better, as we know from physics lessons.

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A number of Russian orchestras interspersed with guests from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey, the European Union, China, Uzbekistan, India, Egypt, Italy, Switzerland and Austria, and each act was a sheer masterpiece, making the ecstatic crowd respond with roaring storms of applause.

In addition to national marches, Egyptian pharaoh-like dressed musicians and their colleagues from Turkey's Janissary band Mehter even played the legendary Soviet song "Katyusha" to the visitors' delight.

© Sputnik / Evgenya Novozhenina / Go to the mediabankMusicians from the Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College perform at the solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow
Musicians from the Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College perform at the solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow - Sputnik International
Musicians from the Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College perform at the solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow

Switzerland's Top Secret Drum Corps went even beyond music — they literally added fire to their amazing performance by staging fights using flags and drumsticks and launching crackers. 

Uzbek participants got a hand when one of them pulled off an impossible trick by playing the karnay — a two-meter long trumpet — while holding it vertically only by his lips!

Martial Music From Across the World: Spasskaya Tower 2015 Fest in Moscow - Sputnik International
Martial Music From Around the World: Spasskaya Tower 2015 Fest in Moscow
Armenian dancers vividly expressed the bravery of the nation while the Kazakhs conveyed the hospitality of "the sons of the Great Steppe."

Probably the most unexpected part of the show began when scores of Dao monks from China's Wudang Shan — the cradle of martial arts — poured out into the square to disseminate harmony and youth through lightning-fast movements resembling the powers of nature.

The show culminated when French music icon Mireille Mathieu devoted her immortal hits to Valery Khalilov, the head of Russia's Alexandrov Ensemble killed in a plane crash on December 25, 2016.

© Sputnik / Evgenya Novozhenina / Go to the mediabankThe solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow
The solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow - Sputnik International
The solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow

Finally, all the participants returned to the venue to put a joint finishing touch, led by the People's Artist of Russia, Tamara Gverdsiteli, to the opening ceremony.

The show, which is taking place in Moscow for the 10th time, comes to an end on September 3.

"We like Moscow, this big city is so beautiful," members of the Turkish delegation told Sputnik, adding that the weather is rather cold for them.

© Sputnik / Evgenya Novozhenina / Go to the mediabankThe solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow
The solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow - Sputnik International
The solemn opening ceremony for the 10th Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Moscow

Military forces from different countries, including NATO and those who are not happy with the expanding bloc, were united and befriended by art. The festival proved that peace has a chance to set in and sent a ray of hope that maybe one day countries will limit the use of their military units to similar musical performances.

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